Eat This!

Chicken Pesto Club | The Original Egg

Hello...

#FALL… Summer is in the rearview mirror. A glance at the thermometer may not tell the whole story. But, fall is closing in fast. Autumn in the Sarasota restaurant world means vacation time. Lots of our local places shutter for a few weeks of physical and mental health rehab. When our Sarasota restaurants are at full tilt people are working their butts off. So, it’s time for a little long overdue R & R. This time of year also brings a flurry of openings. It’s the perfect time to get a jump on things and check out a new place before the lines start forming again. Oh, and they will form. Here’s a plan, go to the end of this newsletter. Pick two new spots and visit them before we say goodbye to September. Report back if you think you’ve found your next favorite Sarasota restaurant… BEER+DINNER, FINS AT SHARKEY’S teams with JDubs (one if my personal favs) for a beer dinner. Should be quite a night. $60PP++ for a five course dinner with beer pairings. Info HERE or call 941-999-3467 for res… HAPPY HOUR CLOCK, Here’s an interesting happy hour variation. OAK & STONE has a “beerwall clock”. Beer discounts range from full price to 40% off depending on the time of day. Go early or stay late and save!... SCALLOPALOOZA, Time for the 6th annual event to benefit SARASOTA BAYWATCH. Sat, Sept 24th. $100PP, hosted at the Sarasota Yacht Club. More info and tickets HERE... 9 IS YOUR LUCKY #, Dine to the 9’s. That’s the theme of the Sarasota-Manatee Originals Restaurant Week. 46 restaurants will be participating from Oct 3rd-9th. Breakfasts & lunches for $9, $19 & $29. Dinners for $19, $29 & $39 (per peson). Here’s where you can get DETAILS and a list of participating restaurants. OK, here we go. Let's get to some food news...

Feast!

Sarasota

When Matt Holt started research to see if a gourmet burger restaurant was feasible in eastern Manatee County, he was aware the American public was being bombarded by pleas to eat healthier and dump the fan-favorite beef patty.

I had the opportunity to dine at the new and improved Drunken Poet Café on Main Street. I had not been to the restaurant since its renovation a few months ago, and was much impressed with its new décor and overall inviting atmosphere. With a little help from a Caragiulo brother, the owner, Aporni Punyhotra, affectionately known as “Oy”, has completely transformed the space.

A new beer debuts Friday and there are only a handful of places carrying it in Southwest Florida.
One of the region's most high-profile restaurant groups has partnered with an equally renowned local brewery to offer its patrons an exclusive craft beer on a regular basis.

For the Columbia Restaurant, it’s all about keeping it in the family. In 1905, Casimiro Hernandez opened the first Columbia restaurant in Tampa. Today, the seven Columbia restaurants are owned by the fourth generation of the family.

Everybody’s got a go-to pizza spot. It’s usually less than a 10-minute drive away, with some sort of cutesy Italian name. The tables have shakers of ground Parmesan and red pepper flakes and bottles of olive oil and vinegar. The pastry case has cannoli. There’s a dude or dudette flipping dough into the air and sliding hot pies into brown cardboard boxes.

Eat Like a Local Restaurant Week is your opportunity to try as many great locally owned restaurants in Bradenton, Anna Maria Island, Bradenton Beach, Longboat Key, Sarasota, Siesta Key and Venice as your schedule allows. From October 3rd – 9th, the best area restaurants will be featuring specially priced breakfast, lunch and dinner prix fixe menu selections.

Make This!

There are few foods out there as dependable, comforting, and versatile as the humble meatball. You could easily go ahead and give your mama's beef and breadcrumb meatball a home in a pot of red sauce and a bowl of spaghetti, tuck your napkin into your shirt collar, and call it a night.

Somewhere between a taco bar and a rice bowl, this grilled skirt steak set up is perfect for tailgating or having a watch party. Since I am on a healthier eating plan now, I omit the very fattening things like crispy noodles or fried wontons. Offer large bib lettuce leaves as a perfect option instead of a flour tortilla to cut down on carbs if you eat this as lettuce wraps.

Odds & Ends

Every bartender worth his salt has a favorite hangover cure—when you spend half your waking hours dishing out liquid headaches, you better know how to mix up a solution to the problem you helped enable.

No one wants to serve spoiled food to their families. Conversely, consumers don't want to throw food away unnecessarily -- but we certainly do. The United States Department of Agriculture estimates Americans toss out the equivalent of US$162 billion in food (PDF) every year, at the retail and consumer levels. Plenty of that food is discarded while still safe to eat.

If your Instagram feed is feeling a little stale, you’re tired of the baby photos and you have had it with the vacation pics, you have come to the right place. We have found 10 Instagram accounts that will liven up your feed right away ― with food, of course.

With so many different cuts of beef—from the 7-bone chuck roast to the tri-tip roast—figuring out the best way to cook a piece of beef can be confusing. This chart from the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association can help.

...The Exit

INS & OUTS… We said we had some new spots for you to give a whirl. Here’s your to-do list. Since our last edition we’ve added, THE CORAL HOUSE, CAFÉ BARBOSSO, BOCA KITCHEN, LILA and BUTTERMILK HANDCRAFTED FOOD. Those are some real contenders for your dining dollars. Unfortunately, we had to hit the delete button on two places. Cosimo’s Trattoria & Bar and Southside Grill. That brings our Sarasota restaurant database to 351 and climbing! As usual, If you know someone who might like to get their very own FEASTnews, send them this link to check out our past issues and signup! Thanks for reading! Check TWITTER, FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM for updates. Next issue, 9/26 - ###